I think most adverts are shit. This is not new, and should not come as any surprise to anyone reading this. However, those clever advertising folks have now started adding useful pieces of information during the product placements. Just little things that could possibly save your life.
I believe the Marketeers out there would refer to what they’re doing as introducing the FUD factor. In that they’re creating a desire to purchase through creating Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
Well, I’m here to tell you it works.
“Did you know that your chopping board contains 50 times more bacteria than your toilet seat?” said the nice lady on the Dettol advert.
Well, this is an extremely useful piece of information. Unfortunately, going upstairs to the bathroom every time I want to chop a carrot is playing havoc with my knees.
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14 comments
<< Sup Dawg
Dr J · September 18, 2006 at 8:08 am
Steady on Angry old lad. There may be “fifty times more” bacteria on the chopping board, but what if they are actually the “friendly bacteria”* featured in an equally crap ad.
Just remember this mantra… “Poo germs BAD!” and when’s the last time you used a chopping board on your botty then eh?
Or is that too personal a question so early in the morning?
* I have a mental image of little wriggly things with smiley faces gazing up through the microscope and given the geek in those ads the thumbs up. Perhaps I’m paying them too much attention….
Oli · September 18, 2006 at 8:44 am
Of course since the ‘friendly bacteria’ dont do much except ease the passage of food through your system you could quite possible be visiting the ‘poo germs’ a lot more often.
Personally I think its a great idea, stirring propoganda to cause hystreria is a great way of getting what you need, take george bush and his WMD campaign.
Celeste · September 18, 2006 at 10:22 am
Chopping things on your bog lid is all well and good but if you have a shiny porcelain one instead of a wooden one, I can’t imagine it being very safe. Plus the noise of the blade scarping against the porcelain would be unbearable.
Admin comment by Mr Angry · September 18, 2006 at 10:44 am
Dr J – Are they all ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Or is there also ‘not fussed either way’ bacteria?
Oli – Friendly bacteria only makes you shit? That’s not very friendly is it?
Celeste – The noise isn’t that bad, stopping the chopped vegetables falling off is the hard part.
BoyOnTop · September 18, 2006 at 11:29 am
Not to make too fine a point of it, but I find it hard to accept that bacteria have an ethical system that divide them as either good or evil. St Peter must be kept very busy at the pearly gates sorting out the billions of bacteria that die every second.
“Sorry, wait your turn, there’s only 5,347,543,235,934 bacteria to sort out first before I send you to hell.”
greavsie · September 18, 2006 at 12:17 pm
It’d cut down on reading the paper on the loo if the missus kept popping upstairs to chop vegetables.
Although you could always say you were nipping upstairs for a Leek.
TJ · September 18, 2006 at 1:28 pm
or even a pea!
Oh God! it’s been a long day already. I’m sorry.
greavsie · September 18, 2006 at 1:46 pm
But ‘I’m off for a legume’ would give the game away….
Admin comment by Mr Angry · September 18, 2006 at 2:15 pm
BoT – unethical bacteria? Whatever next….
greavsie – very good, the best vegetable toilet pun will win a prize!
TJ – That won’t win (in case you were wondering)
Dr J · September 18, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Talking about “ambivalent” bacteria we had a strain of MRSA locally that could only just about be bothered to resist a few antibiotics. Probably been seen off by one of those antibacterial chopping boards. Hurrah!
Oli · September 18, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Dettol kills MRSA apparently, I believe that fact is on the same advert as the chopping board one.
If i ever need to goto hospital anytime soon im taking a bottle with me.
And yes all the friendly bacteria adverts are basically designed to help with digestion, though they have minor side benefits its nothing notable. Best advertising ever has made it seem like these things are amazingly good for you.
Ldbug · September 18, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Ick!!
Actually, being an anoying microbiologist, myself, I can asure you that not all the bacteria are the same and using a wooden cutting board is safer ‘cos when it dries, the cuts/cracks close better preventing places for the bacteria to survive. Also, harder for bacteria to create a biofilm on wood than plastic/glass.
Oli · September 19, 2006 at 8:52 am
If your a microbiologist can you create a super strain and hold the government to ransom for millions of pounds?
if so I want in =p
f:lux · September 19, 2006 at 10:56 am
Well, if we start taking raw veg to the bog and thus cut out the middle man, why bother to chop it up?